#Google Alert - celery

[asianadjacent]

If you don’t like onions, this is not for you

Spoiler alert: this also contains meat so this is definitely not for all you vegetarians or vegans out there. (Sorry, not sorry)

But if you love Italian food, specifically tube shaped pasta, onions and meat, you’ll absolutely adore this dish. I’m talking about a sauce that has a lot of onions and braised meat, cooked for hours, eventually melting away to form this sweet, meaty, gooey sauce that’s paired perfectly with al dente pasta, garnished with fresh herbs and as much grated parmesan as you like.

The dish I’m talking about is Tortiglioni all Genovese, a pasta sauce from the region of Campania in Italy. According to some very half-assed internet research (Wikipedia), it was introduced to Naples from Genoa during the Renaissance. And since then, it has become very famous in the region but forgotten elsewhere mysteriously. 

I came across this gorgeous dish when in Naples, at a restaurant that specialises in ragu called Tandem. Of the many delicious and numerous pasta dishes we ordered that evening, when this dish hit the table and went into my face, I was immediately jealous that it was Kei who made the order (she’s always had the better judgement when it came to menu items) and proceeded to eat most of it. 

The dish was luscious and velvety, where you could taste the sweetness of the onions, married with a subtle hint of the sea (they used octopus instead of beef). That experience has lingered with me ever since.

And so in this time of social isolation, coupled with the fact that I’m stuck at home after an ACL reconstructive surgery on my left knee, meant that this was the perfect opportunity to try to recreate this Neapolitan classic. However, if you google “Pasta alla Genovese”, it’s all becomes very confusing because all you seem to get from Google are recipes for a pesto-based pasta with fine beans, which is not what this is all about. 

Amidst the confusion and hysteria, I turned to New York Times Cooking, where they had a delightfully clear and simple version of the recipe by Mark Bittman, food author. 

Sidenote: Mark (yes, we’re on a first name basis) has written a bunch of great cookbooks like the incredible “How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food” which is one of the better books if you’re looking to start cooking. As a warning, it is a mammoth of a text as it literally has 2,000 recipes so have a sturdy bookshelf before ordering.

So after endless onion prep, cramp from standing on my one good leg and a cook that lasted over three hours, I instinctively knew that this recipe was going to be near and dear to me before it was even completed. And the final result was everything I had hoped for and sent me to carb heaven. 

Like my experience in Naples, what stood out to me the most was the amount of flavour and joy packed into every bite. You could taste the natural sweetness of the onions and the slight “oomph” from the chuck steak, enhanced and tempered with only time and heat.

Ultimately, this is an incredible expression of what I believe good food should be, simple ingredients cooked with patience and love. I hope you try the recipe and love it as much as I do. Enjoy.

Tortiglioni alla Genovese

Servings: 6 to 8 (or 3 to 4 if you’re me) Cooking time: 3 1/2 hours (strap in and open some wine)

Ingredients

2kg red onions, thinly sliced (wear your goggles or prepare to cry for awhile)

Extra-virgin olive oil (use that good shit)

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 celery ribs, trimmed and roughly chopped

120g pancetta, chopped (I used 180g because that was the package it came in and I didn’t want to keep a random 60g of pancetta lying around, plus animal fat = flavour)

1kg beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes (or any alternative cheaper, leaner cuts used for braises or stews)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 bay leaves (I used four because I got mine from Chinatown that comes in a giant packet for cheap. Therefore I worry that the quality of the leaves aren’t as good as the ones you would get from a farmers market or fancy supermarket so I overcompensated)

Handful of oregano leaves (or you can tie a bunch of oregano together and fish out the stems later on. I like leaving the leaves in and I’m lazy to pick stems out)

Some dry white wine (to taste and drink while you cook)

500g dried pasta, like ziti, tortiglioni or rigatoni

Finely grated Parmesan cheese

Fresh parsley, finely chopped

Preparation

Use a large heavy pot over medium high-heat, season your beef chuck cubes and coat them with oil. When pot is hot, starting putting the beef cubes into the pot to brown the meat on all sides. Be sure not to crowd your pot or else it won’t brown properly. You may have to do this in batches but once done, set browned meat aside. Additional note: You may skip this step if you want as browning the meat is slightly unnecessary. I only did it because I wanted the beef to hold its shape for a bit more bite at the end. In fact, according to more half-assed internet research (i.e., one other internet link), most classic Italian recipes will call for a large cut of beef chuck steak, which would be set aside once cooked and served as a second dish. This is how I did it but it’s your kitchen, your choices.

Heat a healthy glug of extra virgin olive oil in the same pot over medium-high heat again; chuck in the carrots, celery and pancetta and cook until it’s browning or caramelised (DON’T FORGET TO SEASON AND ADD PEPPER AS YOU GO, TO TASTE)

Add your onions to the pot, seasoning again as the salt will draw out the water in the onions quicker, you may even add a splash of water at this point if you’re worried that the bottom will burn because you’ve never seen so much onion go into a single pot before unless you’re cooking a giant batch of French Onion soup.

When it looks safe and it doesn’t look like your bottom is burning, chuck in the browned beef cubes. (Pun fully intended)

Add in your bay leaves and oregano and give your pot a little stir.

Bring it all to a simmer, cover it and cook it low and slow for two hours (or more), you will be amazed at the amount of water that will come out of the onions. It will almost be as much as the tears you shed while prepping 2kgs of onions by hand.

Once the meat is squishy and tender, uncover and crank up the hit all the way to bring it to a boil. This is wear you will need to be a bit more active with the stirring, making sure nothing sticks and burns at the bottom. Fiddle around with your heat if you need to. Cook until the meat falls apart or you can stab at the pieces of meat as you’re stirring to help it along a bit. This will be roughly 45 minutes of stirring so you best be ready.

Once the meat is falling apart and the sauce is thick, gooey and beautiful, add half a glass of wine to it and bring your heat down to low. If you’re a drink while you cook type human, you should have just enough white wine left from when you first opened a bottle at the start of this cook. Or perhaps you need to open your second bottle. No judgements here, just solutions.

Stir until the sauce is glossy. When you can’t taste the alcohol in the sauce anymore, it’s good to go. Although if you’re on your second bottle, best get someone to taste just to be sure.

Cook your pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. I won’t go into detail here because I’ve covered how I cook pasta in this recipe here. (Don’t @ me)

Garnish with parsley and parmesan.

Eat all of the pasta.

Food coma.

[krogerconews]

Hovering over hummus | Opinion

This is the third time I've walked through the produce section of Publix. I've already gathered my lemons, avocados, bananas and celery, the staples ... from Google Alert - safeway | publix | albertson's https://ift.tt/3mF9y3d via IFTTT

[krogerconews]

These Snack Cups Come With A Personal Serving Of Chips And Flavored Cream Cheese Dips

... a Harris Teeter grocery store. A quick internet search also shows that Philadelphia Dips also come in a spicy buffalo celery dip with tortilla chips too. from Google Alert - harris-teeter https://ift.tt/3bXCtt2 via IFTTT

[simplymorganunedited-blog]

Clearing Out the Closet: Morgan’s Story

August 8, 2015: 106 lbs. (Olds Hospital)

“What happened?”

What do you mean “what happened?”  I stopped eating. I threw up. That’s what happened.

“Were you raped? Were you sexually assaulted?”

“No?”

“How was your year at school? Were you having trouble with your classes?”

“No? I did really well..”

“What happened?”

Silence

I stopped eating... I just stopped eating.

April 2014: 147 lbs (Olds, Alberta)

I get home from my first year of university. I made a lot of friends that year; a lot of memories. I made a lot of mistakes too. I drank a lot. I couldn't eat healthy. I developed an unhealthy relationship with men, and with sex. Sex and alcohol. Not a great combo for developing feminine self-esteem.

Anyway, I digress. I was standing in my room. I pulled out a pair of jean shorts, Size 6 shorts. They didn't fit. *Stomach Drops. I am not going to be that girl. There is no way in hell I am going to be that girl. I am not going to be the girl who goes to university and gets fat. No way. Not me.

I worked my ass off that summer. I worked out every day. I ate clean. I still ate. I only threw up when I was sick. I thought about everything I ate. I felt amazing; powerful and strong, and reveled in the positive changes in my self.

6 lbs down. Groundwork laid.

September 2014: 141 lbs (Lethbridge, Alberta)

I bought a scale. I downloaded MyFitnessPal. I was so conscious of everything I was putting into my body. I wanted under 140. Under 140 and I would stop. I had so much anxiety that fall. I was so terrified that I would drink too much, that the person that I was around men when I would drunk would show up again. I hated her. I still hate her. I wanted to keep up all of my hard work.

Spoiler Alert: I didn't stop at 140.

November 2014: 137 lbs (Lethbridge, Alberta)

Plateau. There is nothing worse. I hovered at 137 until things got worse, which wasn't until after Christmas. Winter formal hung over me like a black cloud. A Size 5 dress. Jesus, I wanted to look good in that Size 5 dress. I didn't eat all day. I binged at the formal and didn't drink. I wanted to throw up.

I didn't. I wanted to.

February 2015: 135 lbs

Another plateau. I got it together over Christmas, too apprehensive to show my family what I was becoming, too afraid my Dad would see.

Spoiler Alert: This didn't last.

I went out for BPs in early February. I got home and panicked.  I lived alone, so there was no one there to stop me.

Google Search: How to make yourself throw up?

I made this drink; this weird mustard, salt, vinegar, hot water thing. I chugged it back as fast as I could. It didn't work. I wasn't good at throwing up. You can ask anyone who know the “Before Me,” I’ve never been a puker, so I didn't have a clue in hell what I was doing.

*Panics

What am I doing?

4 days later: 2 fingers down my throat. It worked. My first faltering purge.

March 2015: 135-128 lbs (Lethbridge, Alberta)

Epiphany.

I can eat whatever I want. I can have a social life. I can eat whatever I want.

24 Oreos? No problem. Appetizer, Entrée, and Dessert?  No problem.

*Makes Excuse. Disappears. Three fingers in. Food out.

Success.

April 2015: 128 lbs (Lethbridge, Alberta)

It stopped working. I remember the day it stopped. I got cupcakes. My dad paid to send me cupcakes, 12 of them, through the University of Lethbridge Residence. I was supposed to share them. I didn't.

*Three fingers in. No food. Four fingers. No food. Chugs water. No food. Collapses on the bathroom floor, sobbing.

All because of cupcakes.

April-July 2015: 128-114 lbs (Olds, Alberta)

500 calories a day. Track everything you eat. These are the rules. They must be followed.

Work 8 hours a day. Come home, watch the Food Network. Obsess about food.

“DO NOT EAT” Sticky Notes all over the house. Make excuses to Dad when he finds them

.

July 2015: 114 lbs (Olds, Alberta)

Another plateau.

Peter’s Drive-In opens in Red Deer. I went with my best friend.

My Order: Double Cheeseburger, Fries, Strawberry Milkshake, Strawberry Sundae. I eat it in the car. I count the time it takes to get home. I tell her I feel sick. I do.

Me and the toilet. It doesn't come up. I try every trick in the book. (I have quite a few of those by now.) Nothing.

Push harder.

Blood. Everywhere.

*Passes Out.

Thank God Dad isn't home.

July 17-21, 2015: 114 lbs (Olds, Alberta to Montana, USA)

My birthday. A road trip, just Dad and me.

*Panics

I didn't eat the first day. Not for 8 hours. I told him I was sick.

I threw up my birthday treat the second day. In the shower. While he watched TV in the next room.

I didn't eat dinner the third day. I told him I was sick.

He knew.

July-August 2015: 114-106 lbs (Olds, Alberta)

300 calories a day. No friends. Pale, cold and shaky.

Only vegetables and fruits. Nothing else.

Measure wrists. Feel spine. Check mirror. Hate. Repeat.

Is there even a point in living?

August 7, 2015: 106 lbs (Olds, Alberta)

I work a day shift.

Food Intake: 1/3 cup of blueberries, 4 sticks of celery.

Starving.

I’m so f**cking hungry.

*Sighs. Moves to make a “purge-ready” peanut butter and jam sandwich. Stops.

I am not going to be that girl.

*Pours granola in a bowl. Cuts up a peach. Adds yogurt. Eats it.

It’s nearly impossible to throw up granola. Trust me on this one.

*Dials.

“Hey Dad. I have something I need to talk to you about when you get home.”

No turning back.

August 8, 2015: 106 lbs (Olds Hospital)

“You have an eating disorder.”

I know.

“Recovery will be a long and difficult process. You will never think about food normally again.”

I know.

“It’s going to be really scary.”

June 2017: ??? lbs (Lethbridge, Alberta)

It’s still scary.

[krogerconews]

Spend Less, Eat Better: Winner, Losers, Maddening Ads

Biltmore brand at Harris Teeter. Stretch it by spreading on bagel surface before adding cream cheese. Make that c-cheese tastier by chopping celery, ... from Google Alert - harris-teeter https://ift.tt/2O4tqwH via IFTTT